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Other Ducati EICMA News: New Versions of Diavel and Panigale

Perhaps, not quite as exciting as the new line of Hypermotards, Ducati showed new versions of its established Diavel and Panigale lines at EICMA last week.

The Diavel Strada will be priced at $19,495 when it hits U.S. dealers as a 2013 model. This is the surprisingly agile and fast, funky cruiser tweaked for touring duty with even taller handlebars and new seat with passenger backrest for added comfort on longer rides. Together with removable saddlebags and heated grips, Ducati also bumped alternator output to support all the electrical necessities of touring.

The new version of the Panigale designated “Panigale R” is the homologation for WSB racing and, appropriately, engine internals are lightened and the rev limit is raised, while new engine management software and a Termignoni full exhaust (titanium, of course) round out a package adding substantial horsepower to the already wickedly fast standard model.

Chassis changes include a new adjustable swingarn pivot and weight-reducing carbon fiber bits. These team up with Ducati Electronic Suspension, and the Ducati Data Acquisition system. You will pay dearly for all this exotic goodness, of course, . . . to the tune of $29,995.

56 Comments

I am puzzled by the comment that “You will pay dearly for all this exotic goodness”, regarding the $29,995 price for this very sophisticated piece of machinery brimming with cutting edge technology that probably took thousands of hours of R&D to develop, while articles like http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2012/08/new-cvo-breakout-and-hard-candy-custom-options-highlight-2013-harley-davidsons/
make no mention of price which for the CVO Ultra Classic starts at $37,599 which while nice is essentially a tried and true design. Perhaps the writer believes motorcycles should be priced by the pound.

TOO MANY STRADAS BUT NOT ONE GOOD ENOUGH.. if Ducati is this Strada-happy they just need to make modern ST4s.. a tall-rounder in Multi (i don’t need 9 inch suspension for tarmac duty) and these new versions don’t cut it

Still can’t buy or service one of these Ducatis anywhere near me, and I live halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee. It’s heavy traffic and at least two hours toget to a dealer. Ducati might consider expanding their dealer network.

They’re a low volume, premium product but I would think that Chicago would have a better dealer network than that. Ducati would do well to try to get into more Harley dealers up that way, especially since Buell is gone.

Dave, I don’t think that would work very well. Ducati types really have no interest in stepping into a H-D dealer. More importantly, is that H-D dealers, for the most part, have no interest in Ducati’s.

That was the basic problem with H-D dealers carrying Buell. The dealers really didn’t want them.

It does work well for the dealers that decide that they want it to work. While the two customers have different tastes, they are similar demographically. There are HD/Ducati dealers already that do well with the mix.

The dealers that couldn’t sell Buell are a symptom of HD’s biggest problem. Their customer base is getting older and older, like Buick and Cadillac’s were. They changed, HD closed Buell. They will regret it eventually.

‘Struth..!
Many dealers just want to be “order takers” and don’t want to be bothered with either product knowledge or selling.
Used to be — Honda dealers (for instance) had all of Honda’s product-line on-hand. Now, they just want to have the Cruiser models and ATVs.
True too — many H-D dealers hated Buell…

Norm G. says: “okay, why…?”
Manufacturers, for the most part, are not nearly discriminating enough nor demanding enough of dealers. They treat dealers as “customers” — they sell their product to dealers not riders.

“again, why…?”
Manufacturers have, mistakenly, relegated model selection to dealers who may or may not be either riders or good businessmen.
(often, merely lazy and looking for a quick buck)

herein lies the misconception. it’s really not Ducati’s network (possessive) in so much as it’s just a network. each dealer is a privately owned business. while it would be nice to think ducati has some kind of “ownership stake” in each one, they do not. ducati just sells a franchise for $100’s of thousands to a private individual. with the ever devauling mentality of the consumer, the problem comes in if anybody got $100’s of thousands to invest…? the LAST thing they’re going to invest in is motorcycles. welcome to the blowback.

Although I typically detest cruisers in general, somehow I can’t hate the Diavel. It actually doesn’t look too bad in person. Get rid of the silly tall windshield and backrest and even the Strada would look OK. Power, brakes, handling, sane footpeg location, at least it’s a power cruiser with function.

These bikes, the Diavel primarily, should come with an available solo seat that let you stretch back a little, for style and practicality. The pillion is a waste of space, to me, because I wouldn’t be riding that motorcycle with a passenger. I don’t think most people would.

Ducati should be prevented from using a $30,000 bike as a basis for a production class racer. I know they’ve been doing it since time immemorial, but when everyone else is providing their platforms. Race on Sunday, sell on Monday? Hardly.

re: “I know they’ve been doing it since time immemorial, but when everyone else is providing their platforms. Race on Sunday, sell on Monday? Hardly”

what you mean to say is in your circle of friends you don’t know anybody who spends $30k on a motorcycle. in contrast, in my circle of friends there are people who own everything from a 996R to a desmosedici. morale…? expand your circle of friends.

To all the Diavel naysayers… be it for its looks or otherwise, I say to you – ride one. Likely, you’ll go from thinking they’re so far behind in styling to thinking they are the industry trendsetter. One ride… and do yourself a favour – fide whatever you believe is the leader in that class before you do… you’ll have a big s*^t-eating grin on your face longer than you did after your first romp in the hay. Go ahead… I double dog dare ya’.

One of the things I’ve always enjoyed about a long ride was the stop to refuel at some little podunk gas station, and the opportunity to stretch out on the bench in front of the store, with an RC and a Moon Pie, admiring my bike. I guess I could try that on this thing, but it would be much less painful if there were other bikes to look at while I was there.

You got that right! No day is better spent than with my bride of 36 years perched behind me, aimlessly exploring every back road in Virginia and North Carolina. We play a game when we ride that inevitably takes us to great places we’d find no other way: we leave the maps, GPS and cell phones at home. Soon as we get off the interstate, every intersection we come to, we take turns pointing which way to go. Not knowing where we’ll end up, that’s half the fun. The other half is stumbling on awesome little restaurants, fabulous scenery, and memorable conversations with some real characters that we’d never have met any other way.

You’ve obviously never met my wife. If that trucker woulda made the first wrong turn, she’da put a .357 slug in his ear before the trailer straightened out behind them. I could hear her now: “Damn, that muzzle blast is wicked in a truck cab!” Like you said, “No worries!”.

The question that is being answered: What if you want to go someplace on your Diavel?
Put on a windshield, some saddlebags, a passenger seat, a backrest, etc.
I think the correct answer would be: Make an ST-1199 or buy a Multistrada.